chris

can you let us know what town this was in ??? and something more then end of summer? your making a claim with no real facts, sounds more like hear say... care to back this up ?

yeah, there to... the recent call was not Northern Westchester, but in Putnam County.... try finding anything in Putn am Valley.... alot of small back roads which goes on for ever ... did 2001 give directions ?? maybe ?? whats the big deal? ( I have heard many agencies give directions to units ) I was in the back of R77 and we got to the job with out a problem... and yes the GPS in the cab was on and working...
as for the " Hawthrone call " if it was the TRT call, it was allot colder then summer, because I was complaining about how thin the gear was, as I was freezing... maybe it was late winter ? Again, I was in the back of the rig, but from what I was told we were redirected to the scene by the IC... so did the rig go down the street and come back maybe ? but there are better reasons then they were lost... You can go to any Dept, and see the same thing... PD, FD or EMS..
I remember plenty of times responding to calls in CFD, and making a wrong turn or not going the way the IC wants and having to " recalculate "... the King's college fire - E 119 responded to one gate of the complex, as ordered, only to turn around and head out to another entrance, back down the same road we just went code 1 to... so lets not assume they are clueless, until you know the full story..

Great point to leave battery in place to be able to roll down windows, move seat etc. And yes, always check with PD about moving car or using absorball. They may want scene photos. As far as disconnecting battery; take the negative terminal FIRST. Just had this discussion the other nite with a younger member of my crew. If you go for the positive terminal first and hit a part of the car body with your tool you can actually weld your tool to the car.
As far as disconnecting the battery, I can recall 3 car/ truck fires I've had that were on the hook of a tow truck comming through my district. The batteries were left connected by another Fire Dept. where the MVA occured and that Dept. failed to disconnect the battery. The damaged car is bouncing around on the hook and a pinched wire from the crash starts the car on fire. Tow truck/flatbed driver looks back and the vehicle on the hook is cooking. My rule is if the car is being towed away disconnect the battery... negative terminal first.

I personally would prefer not to see any rank or former rank sewn on coats. If that guy wearing the coat is an Ex-Chief and either moves, gets fatter, gets skinnier or otherwise resigns, than I have a coat that says "Ex-Chief" on it that I can't exactly hand out to just any member. This was the same reasoning that our department stopped putting company names/ numbers on our coats several years ago - if a new FF comes in to Engine 118 and the only coat that fit him was from R18 - it made no sense. The coats are too expensive to alter, so for me, I think they shouldn't show ranks unless it's a snap-on or velcro patch. At least then you can swap it when the time comes with the successor. Along the same lines, I'm over the whole white coat thing too. When I get done as Chief I will have a coat that's still good for another 4 years that I can't wear - wasted money unless my successor is as portly as I am.
Helmet fronts with the rank for CURRENT officers is fine by me. An Ex-Lieutenant or Ex-Captain is still a senior guy in that house, and he doesn't need a special helmet front to show it - IMHO. Our Line Officers have white helmet fronts, Deputy Chiefs have gold ones and Chiefs have the white hats. Simple, and we all know who is who. If an Officer isn't on the rig, then it is the senior member in that company that should be riding shotgun, and that person will identify themselves as the "Officer" of their rig on the radio at a scene.
Our firefighters now have helmet fronts with their company # on the insert and their department ID# on the line below. If FF so-and-so transfers to another company, he just pops out the two brass pins and puts in his new company's insert. Done.
Like a few of you said, our dress uniforms should be the place to recognize past officers.

OK, got it on the guidance because of their experience and service part. Why do you have to put EX - anything on your hat or helmet? If you know he is an Ex-Chief just seek his guidance if needed.

If it says "EX Wife" on the check, do you have to pay them for life?
The 1st question is do they need any credentials to become chief in the 1st place? NYS has almost no requirements.
"In MOST CASES".......Not in NYS. You need to get voted in period.

I see lots of people wearing turnouts that say "EX CHIEF" or "EX CAPTAIN" or "EX LIEUTENANT" and I was wondering why? Are you a chief for life?
Does an ex-officer have to maintain any credentials or training?
Why recognize ex-officers like that?

No discrimination there,Mount Vernon is a Equal Oppurtunity Employer!

Thats correct, during the rock we do FST( Functional Skills Training) which is very similar to the Cpat. Then towards the end of the academy we had to pass the CPat which was given by the state. Every year during a day tour your groups are ordered to go to metrotech and have your annual physical which includes the stairmaster, ekg and bp, hearing, eye test, blood work , lung capicity and then the visit with the doc. Because of these test some members have been notified of various cancers or blood disorders. If you are over weight and your bp is too high andif your heart rate is too high on the stairmaster you go to "FAT CAMP" back at the rock and work out with the fitness unit. I personally make sure i work out every day tour I work and also play for the job hockey team 2x a week which is more than enough exercise. There are some guys in my house that i know couldnt pull me out 6'3' 230. So weather your a volly or a career guy physical fitness is a major part of our job with addition to knowing your job and your position

Let me get this straight...its the liberals & the conservatives who are to blame. Instead lets just call them by a common name....Politicians.
Hopefully, justice will be served and YFD members and the Joyce Family will find peace in that.

My interpretation of this cryptic message;
He bought this rig.
He's looking for photos and information about the rig when it belonged to Carmel.
Apparently he wants to restore it to what it looked like when Carmel owned it.
Question for the poster: Show us a photograph of what it looks like now, in your possession.
That should clear up whether this a joke or not.
Translation fee: $0

BVFD - Get your nose out of the books and use some common sense!
1. Fire in an auto body shop. We know there's more hazards in these facilities then, say, most private dwellings. (I say most, some are ticking time bombs of God knows what). Using copious amounts of water will put it out. It's not rocket science. Remember your basic rules of engagement, Rescue, Exposures, Containment, Extinguishment and Overhaul. The neighboring house was saved, the original building was well advanced before anyone called it in. They all went home unharmed - mission accomplished.
2. An auto body shop that is only one story, roughly 50' x 75', and basically 100% involved should never be an offensive, interior attack. What is gained putting your guys in there? Salvaging the charred remains of some cars? We had a body shop on fire in February, with apartments upstairs. Initial crews reported fire in the rear and middle of the building with extension to a loft storage area. Two 2 1/2" lines made the push and knock down which worked. If we had fire conditions like Briarcliff did this morning, we would of gone defensive.
3. If you want to worry about containment of run off at a fire like this where you are flowing over 1000 GPM, let me know how well it works out. Sure you could call Haz-Mat or DOH to analyze the runoff, but other Officers here will probably agree with me that it isn't as high on the priority list as putting the fire out and protecting the exposures.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone, stop being so over-concerned about what is and isn't done at incidents not pertaining to you. Got tactical questions, don't wait until someone has an incident to start nit-picking. Start a thread and get some answers!

While your statement is technically true, if you believe what you wrote, you should never respond to another call again.
We generally know that most of the chemicals in an autobody shop are flammable/combustible (& yes they are also toxic)and with the volume of fire involved in this incident all of these materials have been consumed or if properly stored (as determined from the UFP&BC required inspections) in flammable lockers, they may still be contained in those containers. The greater hazard to firefighters at this call the TRUSS!!
The toxic chemicals that are improperly stored in every garage, basement and under the sink in every kitchen is of much greater hazard to us, along with the chemicals in every vehicle fire. These concerns you raise are much greater in most peoples homes than in the autobody shop.
Yes they are hazadous materials, but the only time I ever saw the levels elevated is in mt vernon and it was not an autobody shop, but a distributor for autobody shop chemicals. I bet if the health dept. checked for ground levels prior to the fire and after the fire, the levels would be the same. Spills are not uncommon and as I previously wrote either the majority of this stuff has burned and gone up in the smoke or its still inside the flammable lockers.

Come on Barry. With all due respect, planning and training are all good and well. But you know, as well as i, that alot of these commercial occupancies may change what they are storing on a daily basis. Even a Career department (such as the one you are affiliated with) with Inspectors/Marshalls may not be able to keep up with whats going on in these places.
Responding to ANY emergency, we must always be on alert and prepared for ANYTHING. However, there are times when things are out of our control.
Happy thanksgiving to you sir and your family, stay safe.

This is where the value of training pays off. Back in July, our area Mutual Aid Coordinator (Battalion 10) set up a demo and training program to show all of us the capabilities of the WCPD Aviation Unit. What was learned that night, plus what I have read on this website has once again paid off.
Thank you, WCPD Aviation Unit.
(Hey Chris - we're on FIREGROUND 5... )

These people are tearing us apart from within! We are all worried about the terrorist overseas, but maybe the real terrorist is our government and those people who are working to dismantle us piece by piece right here on our own soil. I hope this battle continues to the Supreme Court

I'm not sure if this was what BNECHIS was driving at or not, but: those of us working 24 hr shifts have a three times as likely need to take sick time per "day". Many people can get by their 8 hrs with many illnesses, to go home that night, whereas feeling like crap and not be 100% for a 24 hour tour is asking a lot. Not to mention if someone at city hall doesn't give their 100%, no one even notices, whereas in emergency work, not giving your all can be deadly. We rely on each other to get home safely after each tour, coming to work at 60% should not be an option.

I think it was semi-comical when the one person interviewed said they should of used a stun gun instead. Pretty sure it's damn near impossible to use one effectively on a moving car...
My heart goes out to all of the Police Officers involved in this Thornwood incident. I hope you guys know that for everyone who is publicly bashing you, there's two more who support you.

I don't care if you're the President of a University, a football player, a nuclear physicist, or a nun; you use your vehicle as a weapon and try to run down a police officer, a firefighters, or an emt, you should be stopped by any means necessary, including deadly force before you kill somebody. Too bad this football player didn't understand that driving with a cop on the hood of your car is reason enough to be stopped with deadly force.

It is hard to imagine how people support the person who tried to use a vehicle as a deadly weapon and hit police officers and a cop car and manage to put blame on the police officers who did the right thing. It is always a tough situation when color is involved but in the end, if an Officer feels their life or a partner's life is threatened, then deadly force must be taken to stop the threat.
Good job to all the police departments involved and to the EMS agency involved with this difficult incident. God bless you all and all the work you do to keep our streets safe.
To the fallen man, may you rest in peace. It is a shame that the event escalated to the point it did and ended with the unfortunate outcome that it did, but all actions have consequences.
To the injured police officers (two of whom I know quite well), stay strong and my thoughts and prayers are with you, your families, and your fellow Officers. When duty calls, I know you will once again answer the call in a professional and courageous manner.

To bad the cops are gonna be hung over this one also. Good job to all the cops involved. The liberal's are out in full force on the lohud comment section on this and its only a matter of time before rev. Al gets his dirty hands on this

To those of you out there who either had a chance to be hired within that 300 roster,or if you know someone who was eligible to be hired its time to "LAWYER UP"! Step up,fight for your rights.I have a phone # of an atty who might be interested in representing you! Biased questions? The case of MOCHA(Men of Color Helping All) vs Buffalo was proven that questions were not biased.The lawsuit was thrown out because they could not prove that a question was biased. Now you want to bring up biased-- because of a certain decree in place questions are deleted under a 4/5ths scoring method.As mentioned before on here, that causes a disparate impact on others because questions were deleted in favor of a certain group of minoritys. When will it end,aren't we all created equally???

I will have to agree with Chris, the Pleasantville Vac rehab was excellent, an amazing resource for a day like yesterday. Thank you for being there and very professional and proactive!

Captain, we all grieve for the loss of the brothers fallen in CT, VA and elsewhere but we can not forget that life goes on. We must constantly learn from the events, tragedy and lessons of actions both past and present. We can not stop learning just because it hurts too much, or it is too soon.
I choose not to "chill on this thread" because we too must learn from this video as if it were a NIOSH report. We must take the lessons learned and apply them to actions both present and future.
The individuals in the video this thread is based on risked their safety to extinguish what, a tractor-trailer truck cab with limited life-safety except those individuals who choose to unnecessarily risk their own safety. That sir contains a lesson if you ask me. That lesson is risk a little to save a little, risk a lot to save a lot. Those pictured in this video risked a lot to save something that was going to the dump the second that fire started.
I am sorry if this offended you, but we can not let the lessons of this video escape us.

As the Captain of PVAC, I would like to thank those of you for your kind words. I am extremely proud of our Rehab Crew that day. Hopefully, the word will get out there around the County about our personnel and equipment. Glad we were able to make a difference in those extreme conditions, and that no one was seriously injured.
I was also told by my members about the excellent job that BMFD did!